Who Should Pay for Electrical Inspections?

The CW&EP Board met for its regular monthly meeting last Thursday afternoon. At the request of the City, electrical inspections for private property that are charged to the City were discussed. General Manager Bob Williams said there were 152 inspections during the last fiscal year. The City payed $6200 or $42.23 per each inspection.

The City has discussed the possibility of charging individuals for the inspections. The some Board members expressed concern in charging inspections to home owners, except in the case of new construction, because they fear that a homeowner might attempt to make illegal connections to avoid the cost of inspection. Williams and City Administrator Tom Short will continued discussions on services provided to the City.

The Board also discussed the weather, at least as it relates to the cost of power. After discussing the highs and lows of load management of which weather temperatures play a big part, CW&EP Board Member Steve Beimdiek looked at Williams and joked, "Admit it. You can’t control the weather."

When the air temperature reaches 60 in the Winter or 80 in the summer there is typically a greater demand for electrical power. When this happens the wholesale cost of a kilowatt hour of power has risen at times to $500 or greater.

CW&EP meets that challenge by pre-purchasing power well before an anticipated temperature change. Currently they are in negotiations with Grand River Dam Authority who owns a coal-fired plant in Chouteau, Oklahoma. Options being discussed include purchasing less power during the winter and trading power during emergencies.

Another cost effective measure is to establish strong partnerships with corporations and other users of large amounts of power. The Board is aware that if the City owned utility is deregulated it could lose commercial customers to outside suppliers. If that should happen then residents could see a dramatic rise in home usage rates.

City Promotes Affordable Housing.

The Affordable Housing Task Force met last Thursday afternoon to discuss present and upcoming projects.

Currently there are six houses in various stages of repair throughout Carthage for a total cost of $59,710.00. Expenditures per house ranged from $2,430 to $15,000. Previous repairs have included items such as new siding, porch, roof, kitchen, plumbing, electrical, roof replacement, and chimney repair. Grant money in the amount of $60,000 from the Missouri Housing Trust funded the FY 1999-2000 projects.

The housing rehabilitation program is open to any resident of Carthage who owns a home and meets income guidelines which range from $12,850 yearly for one person to $22,750 for a family of seven. City Inspector Bud Rogers said he is seeking applicants. Interested parties can contact Rogers at 237-7010; TDD: 1-800-735-2466 or by going to the Inspections Department at 623 E. 7th.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

I often wonder if the folks that invented those ever’day things we use ever got a just financial reward for their insights.

The ones who came up with the paper clip, fingernail clippers, safety pins - did they live long enough to see the impact of these simple, but impressively important contributions to our ease of livin’?

We hear about the non productive pet rock kind of money makers, but take the ball point pin, matches, and disposable diapers for granted. Someone or group of ones came up with the idea and figured a way to make it work. They are the unheralded heroes of modern society. A continuing string of seemingly small contributions that become woven into the cloak of convenience.

I’d take off my hat to ‘em, but I conveniently don’t wear one.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Workman's Loan

The Super Handyman

Many newer drills are chuckless, but we prefer the old type with a chuck key. The problem with such drills - and the major reason chuckless drills were invented - is that it can be hard to keep track of that vital key. One easy way to keep the chuck key where you want it is to tape a spring-type clothespin to the drill's electrical cord, then clamp the key in the clothespin's claws.

Just tape one handle of the clothespin to the cord so it will still open and close.

It's a simple way to store the key, and it's easy to retrieve the key when you need it. For safety reasons, remember to unplug the drill whenever you are changing bits.

Dear Al & Kelly: We are venting our clothes dryer into our screened-in porch temporarily because we are expanding the house. The dust and lint that blows out the hose end was just awful until I covered the hose with some scrap pantyhose. The pantyhose traps a lot of the lint and keeps it from blowing out into the room. I do have to clean out the makeshift "lint trap" everytime I do a load of laudry, but it's well worth it in the long run.

SUPER HINT-To get a better seal on a half-used can of paint and keep it from drying out, put the lid on the can and then turn it upside down for a couple of seconds. The paint helps seal itself.